How Vietnam inspired Cochine’s trademark scent: now based in Hong Kong, fragrance entrepreneur Kate Crofton-Atkins juggles work and family with her trusty Cartier Santos on her wrist
- At first her fragrances were for home use as candles or in diffusers to cut through the humidity and air conditioning in Asia, but in 2021 she launched her eau de parfum
- She enjoys that the pivot to online business means she has a more direct connection with her customers through social media and email
A decade ago, Kate Crofton-Atkins could scent a change in the air. Newly married, she’d just moved to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam and was struck by the timeless elegance of the city, where beautiful architecture and greenery sat side by side, pavement cafes were bathed in dappled sunlight, and everywhere, the scent of jasmine and frangipani permeated the air.
“I loved the blend of cultures, and there was something completely captivating and romantic about the city, the people and the culture,” Crofton-Atkins remembers. “It was there, in the first few weeks of arriving, that I decided to create fragrances that captured the feeling of travel, discovery and escape, that transported people to their special place in the sun, wherever that may be.”
Over 10 years, she built up her fragrance business, a departure from her original career in finance. Her company Cochine has gained renown for its sophisticated scents, which first came in the form of candles, bath and body products, as well as reed diffusers.